NollywoodWeek Paris holds June

ORGANISERS of the NollywoodWeek Paris, which made its debut last year, have announced that this year’s edition of the festival will hold between Thursday, June 5th and Sunday, June 8 at the prestigious Cinema l’Arlequin, 76 rue de Rennes, 75006, Paris.

The event, according to organisers, is to contribute to the development of the Nigerian film industry by enlarging its global audience.

One of the coordinators of the festival, Serge Noukoué, who is from the Republic of Benin, described Nollywood as the pride of Africa.

“It is an annual film festival that gives French and European audiences a chance to discover the most recent and acclaimed Nollywood films. It is a four-day film projections, with glamorous opening and closing night ceremonies, conferences, workshops and professional events, involving Nigerian culinary specialties made available at the bar in the lounge area,” said Noukoué.

Speaking further on the aims of the festival, Shakur expressed the need for partnerships and exchanges between French and Nigerian film and media professionals. “Nollywood is a phenomenon that has gathered interest far beyond Nigerian borders. Yet, it remains virtually inaccessible to film enthusiasts based in France. As France is the birthplace of cinema and Paris a cultural hub for international film, a festival dedicated to the second largest film industry in the world only seemed natural,” he said.

Determined to sustain the event, Hammond noted that the first challenge of the maiden edition was to create the festival. “Now we need to preserve it, which can only be done with your support,” he said, urging the private and public sectors in Nigeria for strategic partnership.

Some of the official selection for this year’s edition are award-winning films like Confusion Na Wa directed by Kenneth Gyang (winner of African Movie Academy Award (AMAA) for Best Nigerian Film and Overall Best Film in 2013); Flower Girl directed by Michelle Bello (Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress at the 2014 AfricaMagic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA); Half of a Yellow Sun directed by Biyi Bandele (World premiere at Toronto International Film Festival 2013); Journey to Self directed by Tope Oshin Ogun (Best Actress in Drama at AMVCA); The Meeting directed by Mildred Okwo (New Era Movie Award and Best Make Up at the AMAAs) and Misfit directed by Daniel Emeke Oriahi.

Last year, the festival featured blockbusters such as Ijé, Last Flight to Abuja, Tango with Me, Inalé and Phone Swap directed by Kunle Afolayan, which won the Audience Award.

The festival is a project developed and run by the French-based association, Okada Media, an association under the French law 1901, with the objective to showcase, support and inspire Nigerian film professionals with the hope of making their works accessible in new territories.

Okada Media is headed by Noukoué, Shakur and Hammond.

“With the economic and cultural emergence of Nigeria, partnering with NollywoodWeek is clearly the right choice,” declared Hammond.